Chimaira continue to update from the studio… Day 11 – Title Track Yo, Mark here again. Checking in and giving you the latest over here. We finished “Cleansation” yesterday and started the title track today. Almost done with it, and it will be finished before I even wake tomorrow. The title track is one of the best songs on the record I feel. It will be the 2nd song on the record, and like the first song it has the traditional Chimaira elements you all love, but when the end hits, you will realise you have a different kind of Chimaira record, and a special one at that. We finalised the track listing for the cd today, and we were only going to put 11 songs on it, but our pals at Roadrunner talked us into sneaking 1 more on there for ya so your getting 12 now. We didn’t want to be greedy with our songs, we just wanted to make sure every single song was good enough to make this record. I will give you guys the heads up on the order and what not soon. We are also working on some touring plans, but right now the main focus is finishing the record. Tomorrow we will start mixing the last song on the record, it is called “Implements of Destruction”. This song is our masterpiece. It is very long, and it is very epic. We all wrote this song together and a lot of the riffs came from all the touring we did for pass out. This will be my favourite song to play live if we do, you will understand why when you hear it ) Tonight Jim and Rob spent some time at a local show and they said they had a blast, looks to me like they did because they could hardly walk when they came in and they came up with ideas like going to our chef’s cabin and banging on the door then running away (this is at midnight here) Hey whatever works! This has been a great time, but it is time to come home soon, and we get to go home on WED so we are all pretty stoked about that. Talk to you soon. Day 13 – Time Nearly Up Yo amigo’s. Still mixing, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now. We get to come home this week! Colin just wrapped up the song “Eyes of a Criminal”. This song is just metal, there is no other way to describe it. It has a nice slow ass heavy half time ending and some insane double bass pattern by Andols that Colin refers to as sounding like a marching band snare pattern! hahah his feet are that fast. We are about to start the song “The Dehumanizing Process”. This song just jams, it has some great parts, and it is one of the first songs Matt did most of the writing duties on. (No it’s not the only one, just the first since joining the band) Tuesday morning we leave for London to do a press/RR UK street team listening party. Don’t you all wish you lived in London!! We get to jam it for the dudes at Metal Hammer, Kerrang! etc.. Hope they enjoy and if not, hey at least they can get drunk (pissed as they say it over here) and think that they did. Our stay in England has been most triumphant to quote fellow metal head Bill S. Preston, Esq. and we can’t wait to get back over here to play some damn shows. We will send you another update from the studio before we leave, a quick review of the listening party and some more pictures before the video shoot in LA. February 28th we will debut the first instalment of the online studio documentary. Keep checking in with us! Mark COMPETITION HEAR THE NEW CHIMAIRA MIXES! And if you want to be in with a shot of coming along to the invite-only free-bar listening party in central London tomorrow (Tuesday Feb 25) night… send us in an email to: rrguest@roadrunnerrecords.co.uk, marking your email ‘Ass Ripping Metal’ including your name, a contact phone number, and the answer to this question: What is the name of the last Chimaira record? A winner will be chosen at lunchtime. Good luck.

In what will become a regular feature, we bring you the men behind the music. We get many emails in asking questions about various band members. You told us it’s not just about liking the music…. you want to know about each person involved in making that music. So, we decided to pick the most popular questions and collect some answers. Some of the answers are funny, some serious, some sarcastic, some downright rude(!) but all are genuine… First up, Joel Ekman – drummer of Stone Sour. Date of birth? – A favourite tour story? “A van picked us up from a venue to go 20 meters to a signing!” Five words that describe you? “Honest, shaky, laid back…” Joel: “Hey Corey! I need 2 more words to describe myself…” Corey: “Non-plussed.” Joel: “What’s that?” Kirsten, Roadrunner: “Not bothered by stuff.” Joel: “Oh. Yeah. One other…” Corey: “Drunk.” Joel: “Hah. Good one.” One album that you think everyone should own? “Tonic – Head On Straight” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite over for dinner and why them? “Tommy Lee, for road stories!” Best piece of advice you’ve been given? “Don’t take anything serious.” If I wasn’t in this band I would be… “Working at a furniture store.”

Two reports for you on the Stone Sour Glasgow show. The first, straight from one of our teamers who met the band before the gig… thanks for the write up Mik! What can I say, entertainer, jackass, joker….3 words that make me think of Corey. When we got in at first he was nursing a hangover from the Mudvayne show so he (along with Jim and Shawn) were quiet…for a second or two. As soon as they got going, Corey at centre stage, things just kicked off with stories of pitchers of ale over Clown from Slipknot, flaming cymbals, Rainbow strobe lights and Leprecaun hats. Then…they hit the stage tearing thru most of the album tracks, throwing in non album track ‘Inside The Cynic’..this track itself proves what a RAWK band these guys are..fists in the air, crowd chants of ‘STONE SOUR’, waves of water and beer thrown all over the place…this is what this music does to people. This band is what music is all about. Fuck the hype, Fuck the bullshit, this is the Real Thing. Second report, from the Roadrunner ROTR (Rep On The Road) Luke. The show was blindin’, fantastic… everyone was jumping around like maniacs, the floor was bouncing, people were chanting ‘Corey! Corey! Corey!’ At the meet & greet with the street team, Corey was regaling everyone with tales of Stone Sour and Slipknot tours – all this talk of overloading smoke machines and severed beaver tails being thrown around! As for the show, Corey had to stop playing 3 times during ‘Bother’ coz everyone was clapping so loudly and out of time! Of course when he apologised for asking people to stop clapping, and started playing again everyone just clapped harder! Joel and Jim were clapping at the side of the stage encouraging everyone to join in, and Josh even came out with a lighter…” Fun times indeed… as for the Newcastle show last night our ROTR had to say he’d “never seen a pit like it”. Birmingham & Manchester to come tonight & tomorrow.

Don’t forget, if you live in the Birmingham area, that Stone Sour are doing an instore tomorrow before the show at the Academy! Get yourself to: Virgin Megastore, 98 Corporation St, Birmingham B4 6SX From 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. (signing only – no performance).

Chimaira send more words from the studio. Day 8 – The walls are closing in. Mark here, well we are still hard at work, or is it hardly working….let me start over. Colin is still hard at work mixing. We finished the first single “Down Again”. This song is a bit different for us, when people hear it they go “Metallica”. I don’t know what period they are talking about, but at any rate this is the strongest song on the record for sure. We chose to go with it as our first video/single because the song will stick in your head for a long time, and if we are going to let millions hear a song, it should be this one. The verses have some great death metal riffs, the chorus is very melodic, and the bridge is epic sounding (not the FNM song, but there is some piano and cellos in it…scared yet??!!haha) We started getting the files ready to mix “Cleansation” tonight, this will be the first song on the record, and the first full song you internet whores will be able to get your hands on before release. It is the traditional Chimaira song, heavy as fuck, a pounding chorus and an ending that will make you want to rip your mates balls off. On a personal level, we are starting to feel the effects of what some call “Cabin Fever” I found myself walking from room to room today wondering what the fuck I could do with myself to keep busy. The answer…write a studio update, smoke some cigarettes and enjoy English TV *note for you Americans, they show T&A and swear on prime time channels!!! We are stoked to come home, we leave the beautiful English countryside on the 26th and we get right back on a plane to LA to shoot the video. That will be the worst jet lag ever, LA is 8 hours behind us right now….yikes! We are starting to figure out tour plans, we know we will be hitting Europe and the UK close to release date. We are pretty fucking bummed we are not doing the US Ozzfest, but hey since when can life be perfect in the world of Chimaira, whatever. We will tour the US and the rest of the world to the point of where you are sick of us. Thanks for reading this long ass post, but like I said…the walls are closing in! Mark

Chimaira are still holed up in deepest darkest Lincolnshire mixing new record ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’. Part 4 of Life In Lincolnshire. No words from Mark this time. Instead, we offer up a short video clip, filmed by Rob (guitarist), of the mixing of new song ‘Pure Hatred’. This is the very first raw snippet of new Chimaira you can hear. Check it out HERE.

The latest on the recording of Spineshank’s new album, as told by drummer Tommy Decker: Hey all, It has been a while since I’ve posted, but things have been pretty quiet. We have been busy mixing and rehearsing…we want to hit the road soon!!!! The mixes are coming out great and should be done real soon. We also did the photo shoot for the album package this week, which should be really cool. The same company that did the packaging for “Fight Club” is doing it, and they have a lot of cool ideas and visuals. As soon as we get some art work done we’re going to “redo” the website. So if you have any suggestions on things you like to see on the site, just post it up on the message board. We read it daily and have been posting answers to as many questions as we can. Well that’s all for now. -Tommy

The Ozzfest 2003 lineup is announced. From camp Roadrunner, we are pleased to announce that Killswitch Engage will be making the trip this year, on the second stage. Today, you best have your ass at the Fat Cat in Springfield, MA. As told previously, Killswitch Engage will be shooting a live video for the song “Fixation On The Darkness.” Details? Our very own Marketing Matt from our NY office will be attending and taking photos tomorrow. He says he’ll have some “shit to show and tell” come Thursday. Rock. Back on the US Ozzfest front, the rest of the lineup looks to round out as follows: Main Stage OZZY OSBOURNE KORN MARILYN MANSON DISTURBED CHEVELLE Second Stage CRADLE OF FILTH (co-headliners) TRUST COMPANY (co-headliners) MEMENTO HOTWIRE SHADOWS FALL GRADE 8 TWISTED METHOD NOTHINGFACE KILLSWITCH ENGAGE UNLOCO

While sitting, eyes glazed, head nodding, in front of Kerrang! TV, you might like to request the following during their special Monsters Of Rock week currently running: # 309 – Murderdolls ‘Dead In Hollywood’ # 649 – Nickelback ‘How You remind Me’ # 705 – Slipknot ‘Left Behind’ # 921 – Slipknot ‘Wait & Bleed’ # 315 – Stone Sour ‘Bother’

Theory Of A Deadman are confirmed as the support on the upcoming 3 Doors Down tour dates, including one UK show on March 31st at the London Shepherds Bush Empire. However, due to a change in the touring plans of 3 Doors Down, Theory Of A Deadman will no longer be performing two UK headline shows on March 11 and 13th in Glasgow and London. We suggest all those with tickets for the now cancelled March 11 & 13 shows contact their ticket agent. Tickets for March 31st are on sale now.